Tough Lessons: Managing Employee Moral and Ethical Dilemmas

SHRM 2012 Strategy Conference

Workplace Application: Learn how to develop a strategy to help your employees manage and achieve balanced success and discover techniques to help resolve moral and ethical dilemmas and avoid justifying unethical decisions.

Tough Lessons: Managing Employee Moral and Ethical Dilemmas

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Occupational fraud might be more common than many think, particularly because some experts argue that the economic downturn might be leading more people to commit it. John Borbi will share his personal story - a successful career as one of the nation's former leading financial advisors and investment specialists for seven years, managing close to $100 million for his clients. He spent years creating the perfect life, and then watched it all vanish as he made unethical choices and suffered the consequences of those choices - two years in federal prison. John's story will help you discover that learning the warning signs and stopping unethical behavior before it occurs is a strategic risk management imperative. You need to be aware of moral and ethical temptations your employees face every day, and the justifications they may use daily - which increase their chances of making poor unethical choices. You will leave this session with the knowledge necessary to make sure your policies and code of conduct properly address these scenarios.

In 1995, Borbi began his journey as a financial advisor at a full financial services firm and would eventually manage close to $100 million in assets for his own clients. His income grew from $28,000 in his first year to $500,000 seven years later; this dramatic rise of income would prove to be his downfall and led to some poor ethical choices. When the stock market fell in 2001, Borbi's began to cover his clients’ losses by transferring assets illegally and committing wire fraud. He was caught when his biggest client noticed the illegal transfers. This crime lead to a 30 month sentence in Federal prison. Borbi’s life took an extreme turn and he lost everything. He returned to society a pariah, banned from the investment community forever, a felon who would always be looked at differently, having to rebuild his life financially, gain new friends, reestablish his credibility, and tell his two young children where he had been for 2 years. Borbi is now sharing his mistakes with the intent to help people make strong ethical choices and live each day without regrets.